Nights by the Sea
by Practical Cannibalism
Summary: Cross has been gone for awhile and Tyki goes to check up on him. On Hiatus.


A/n: Alright, this piece will be more than a one shot. The first chapter is basically set up (not much sexy). SPOILERS for, uh, chapters from the summer up till now, prolly. This is just my personal take on the events that occurred around Cross' 'incident'.

(For TykixKanda children, that will be updated, but I don't has any plans for that at this moment.)

Also, I DEMAND MORE CROSS X TYKI, where is it! Where is it all? D:

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters or anything. For srs… .

The seashore was quiet. The waves lulled gently onto the pale sand and the moon hung heavy in the dark velvet sky. Tyki walked gently down the beach, suddenly very careful of world that he found around him. He had fought battles. He had killed people. But this beach, in this moment, was far removed from any of those things and it unnerved him slightly. It was simply different. A good different, he thought. He was not surprised to find Cross in this place.

There was a small house a short way away. In the daytime it might have been blue, but the night had painted it in silver and grays, giving it a ghostly quality. It wasn't a very nice looking house from the outside; it appeared ill kept and a little tilted, the windows were dusty and a bit cracked.

Tyki found himself in front of the door quite quickly. He had a sudden snap of anxiousness. What if Cross didn't want to see him? What if he was worse off than Tyki thought? What if it was too late?- or, no. Tyki smirked to himself, the moon catching the glint of his teeth. He didn't bother knocking.

"So you finally showed up." That familiar voice greeted him, warm and soothing like hot cider on a cold, cold day.

"What? Were you expecting me sooner?" Tyki answered, a leather gloved hand closing the door softly. He walked down a short hall into a round room that looked rather cozy. The faint smell of cigarette smoke lingered in the air. An unopened bottle of wine stood on a worn end table. There was a different smell too, mint and metal, faint. Cross.

He reclined easily on a plush leather sofa, his red locks bound in a messy queue. Tyki thought he looked somewhat thinner, but couldn't be sure. He had taken off his glasses and they lay upon a shiny coffee table. The only light in the room came from a dim lamp in the corner and the moonlight streaming in through the misted window. Cross' face looked tired, worn and yet as youthful as usual. Tyki wondered what he was thinking.

"I've been in pain for a long time Tyki. It's good to finally see you." Cross sighed out. Tyki now noticed how the older man held his side as if it ached.

Tyki crossed the room and sat beside the General, searching him over with his golden eyes.

"What happened to you Cross? The people you know, they're dying." Tyki said, not exactly in an attempt to provoke the red-haired man. He didn't like seeing Cross like this. Didn't like seeing him so, so…. _Vulnerable._

"Well, then they can die for all I care." Cross chuckled darkly, his ruby eyes gazing into Tyki's face. He saw what Tyki saw and didn't like it either. "They did this to me, Tyki Mikk. It was them all along. I can't blame them though. I'd probably do it to myself." He grinned.

"What about the boy?" Tyki whispered as he came closer, nuzzling Cross' neck, breathing him in. It really had been a long time.

"He can take care of himself." The General replied, leaning into the touch. Yes, it had.

"Maybe he can't?"

"He'll figure something out. He always does." Cross brought a rough, calloused hand against Tyki's face. The Noah's skin was soft and smelled of lemon. He grasped a handful of black, lacquered curls and tightened his hold.

Cross hummed slowly in his throat as Tyki worked his lips down to the edge of his collar. There were lots of things he could say right now. Lots of things that he had thought about over the past six months. At some point Tyki had removed his gloves and now a warm, caramel hand fussed with the buttons of his shirt.

"How did we ever get into this mess?" Cross mumbled out, letting Tyki take control of the situation and simply laying back in those scarred, dark arms.

"What mess do you mean?" Tyki's hands had found their way to Cross' belt and had expertly undone it. "The mess with the war? That's been going on for ages. That's just something that _is_. It never wasn't." Tyki's hands pulled the General's cream-colored shirt from its confines, exposing the tan chest, riddled with scars. "Ah," Tyki began gently, gazing down at the wounds that had sent General Cross into hiding. "And if you mean the mess about us, I wouldn't really call that a _mess_, per se. More like a happy disorganization of morals and loyalties."

Cross laughed and it was genuine.

The General's smile lingered for a bit and he brushed away the wild locks of hair that surrounded Tyki's face. He was happy that Tyki was here, as strange and twisted as that may seem to anyone but the two of them. He couldn't say that he loved Tyki, and he knew almost certainly that the Noah didn't love him. They were two men incapable of love, real love. And perhaps that's what brought them together. The simple easiness, the understanding. The understanding. Tyki knew, Tyki understood. In all his life and with all his women, Cross never did find anyone that could understand him except for-

"If you have something to say, you should say it." Tyki now straddled the General and Cross wondered when that had occurred.

"Have you ever been in pain Tyki? Pain that lasted so long you thought it would never end?" Cross replied suddenly, his ruby eyes darkening to garnet. Tyki's brow creased, wondering.

"You know that I have. Your own disciple-" the Noah motioned to his heart where that white haired boy had ended his life. Or so he had thought.

"Then you know that when it ends, suddenly, and never to return. You know how the world just becomes a thousand times better. How every breath feels like a blessing." Cross gripped Tyki's shoulders tightly and closed his eyes. "I want to feel that Tyki. I can't stand this anymore. If you can do it, I want you to take all that pain away."

"That might be something I can't do." Tyki said, seeing it all now. He felt a tightening in his throat. It wasn't sadness was it? To see this man who had defeated him, won him, known him- to see him fallen, to see his pain. This wasn't the Cross Tyki knew. This wasn't the overconfident, cocky, self-absorbed douchebag of an Exorcist General that Cross was supposed to be. Tyki laughed and felt terrible at the same time.

"But, I'll try my best." Tyki returned with a purr.

Cross felt the Noah's body come down into him and felt satisfied, for now. Tyki would bring him back. He hoped more than he knew. And perhaps for just this once, Cross gave in.


End file.
